Home Minister Amit Shah visits AIIMS to meet soldiers injured in recent Naxal encounter

New Delhi [India], May 15 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the AIIMS trauma centre in Delhi on Thursday and checked on the health of the security personnel injured during the 21-day-long anti-Naxal operation carried out in the Karegutta Hills (KGH) at the Chhattisgarh and Telangana border.
Security forces recently conducted a 21-day anti-Naxal operation on the Karreguttalu Hill (KGH) at the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border named "Operation black forest" from April 21 to May 11, during which the forces neutralised 31 Naxals carrying a bounty of Rs 1.72 crore.
In the significant operation, a total of 18 personnel from the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), Special Task Force (STF), and District Reserve Guards (DRG) were injured in various IED explosions. All injured personnel are now out of danger and receiving the best possible treatment at various hospitals.
During the operation, security forces destroyed 214 Naxal hideouts and bunkers and a total of 450 IEDs, 818 BGL shells, 899 bundles of Codex, detonators, and a large amount of explosive material were recovered during the searches. Additionally, nearly 12,000 kilograms of food supplies were recovered.
Karreguttalu Hill was the Unified Headquarters of major Naxal organisations like the PLGA Battalion 1, DKSZC, TSC, and CRC, where Naxal training and the creation of strategies and weapons used to take place.
Following the operation, Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated the security forces on its successful completion, stating that where the red terror once reigned, today the tricolour flies proudly.
It is noteworthy that building on the success of the anti-Naxal operations in 2024, the security forces have neutralised 197 hardcore Naxalites in the last four months as part of the ongoing anti-Naxal operations in 2025. In 2014, 35 districts were most affected by Naxalism, and by 2025, this number had reduced to only 6.
Similarly, the number of Naxal-affected districts has decreased from 126 to just 18. In 2014, 1,080 Naxal incidents were recorded in 330 police stations across 76 districts, whereas in 2024, only 374 incidents were recorded in 151 police stations across 42 districts. In 2014, 88 security personnel were martyred in Naxal violence, which decreased to 19 in 2024. The number of Naxalites killed in encounters has increased from 63 to 2,089.
In 2024, 928 Naxalites surrendered, and so far, 718 have surrendered in the first four months of 2025. From 2019 to 2025, the central forces, in collaboration with the state police, have established a total of 320 camps in Naxal-affected states, including 68 night-landing helipads. The number of fortified police stations, which was 66 in 2014, has now increased to 555. (ANI)